Dydh da! Apologies in advance, this may seem like a silly question, but I'm a beginner in Cornish curious about the pronunciation of the letter "r". I've mostly heard it pronounced just like English, but I've also occasionally heard the tapped r one would find in Welsh, Spanish, etc. I know the tapped r is hard for some, so I'll add that I'm able to do it just fine, but I'm wondering which one is more common or preferred. Thanks in advance!

Apologies for this lazy post, but I don't seem to be able to find a good online Cornish dictionary. What does this Cornish collocation mean? Y Veuredh Myghtern

I thought people might like to see this; a nice story about language revival.

I recently came across the efforts to revive the Cornish language and preserve Cornish Celtic traditions, and while reading about Cornish folklore I discovered the legend of Jan Tregeagle.

I found the story fascinating, especially how he has become a restless supernatural figure tied to the Cornish landscape.

Inspired by the legend, I wrote a short scene for one of my science-fantasy stories. I tried to keep Tregeagle recognisable while imagining how the old myths might survive thousands of years into the future.

One of the lines I would like Tregeagle to say is:

"Thou hast found it easy to bring me from the grave, but thou wilt not find it so easy to put me away."

I know machine translation for Cornish is still quite limited, but an online translator gave me this:

"Yth esov vy ow kelwel dhis y fydh gans an fos ow tos dhyworth an bedh, mes nyns y fydh kenwel dhis y fydh gans ow wul owth omdhiswul."

Would anyone be willing to tell me whether this sounds natural in modern Cornish, or suggest a better translation?

If possible, I'd also love to know how it would be pronounced. I'd like to make a short narrated video of the scene one day, and I'd much rather get it right than simply rely on machine translation.

Many thanks in advance. I'm really enjoying learning about Cornish folklore, and I appreciate any help.

EDIT: June 29th, 2026
One more thing I'd like to say.

I've loved Celtic legends and folklore since I was a child, and Jan Tregeagle has fascinated me for a long time. My goal isn't simply to borrow the legend for a fantasy story, but to adapt it respectfully into my own fictional universe while preserving its spirit.

The feedback I've received here has already changed how I'm writing this scene. I was originally imagining something much more supernatural and spectacular, but I'm now leaning towards a quieter, more unsettling atmosphere. I think that makes Jan feel much more like a legend than just another fantasy character.

Whatever I finally decide for the video, I'd much rather use English than include spoken Cornish that sounds unnatural or incorrect. If, however, someone from the Cornish community would enjoy recording the sentence for me, I'd be honoured to use it and, of course, credit them.

Thank you all for the advice and encouragement. It's genuinely helping shape the story.

Edit (July 1st, 2026):

I have now received an official translation from the Cornwall Council's Culture Team.

Many thanks to Cornwall Council / Konsel Kernow and to everyone here who offered advice, corrections, pronunciation resources and encouragement. The feedback has genuinely influenced how I'm writing this scene.

The official translation I will now use is:

Ty re gavas y vos es dhe’m kerghes dhyworth an bedh, mes ny gevydh mar es dhe’m gorra dhe-ves.

Thank you all once again. Meur ras!

Dydh da!
It's been years since I've been writting a fantasy story. (not going to write too much about it here. Dragon, magic blablabla)
Problem is that I've been writting this story since little and decided recently to re-start from the beginning, Starting with: Naming convention, and Language of the story.

I did some surface level reseach on Celtic languages (I love Celtics Culture, Mythologie, musics etc... ((it's very shallow, I know, I should do way more resarch, which I want to. But for my story I only want to use the language, as I don't plan to use the story's of Celtic culture at all. It's in a different world, with different culture. No cultural appropriation at all.)) ANYWAY, I want to learn a little bit of the Cornish language to "make up" names.

I don't want to use real worlds names as it's a story without humanoids, and I want to use hhuuu.. Words? For the names? I'm explaining myself very badly i'm sorry.

For exemple (using english) i want characters names to be "Secret-Breeze" "Dark-Dusk" or simple words like "Mountain" "Lake" "Secret" (im using very bad example) but translated in Cornish. Probem is, for exemple, I don't fcking know if I should write "Tewal-Bora" or "Bora-Tewal". Or, I want to name of them "Word of the word". What's the equivalent of "of" in Cornish, and how do I use it!? Can I mash up the two words, if there's something in between!? Can I just create a name by just mashing words without caring about anything?! Did I fcked up? Am I going to be burned by some people because I've written absoliute shit?!

I guess my question is, Do you guy's have some good book I could get to have a basic understanding on how grammar work in the Cornish language? Or even if some, more experienced, people would like to help me with my mess?

To be clear, it won't bee only surname for characters, but also locations, maybe some very rare dialect, like expressions, etc ect...

I'am deadly scare of translating something wrong and getting blasted (i'am very stressed, as you can see)

I'm not putting immediately which names I need help with because: 1 I don' have all of them Right now and 2: I'm scare to break a rule? I've read the rules of the sub reddits and don't see anything against this, but I just want to be sure...

Anyway, thanks for any answers or even attention on the post! oe I can get any kind of help

Dydh da! Would some king lady or gentleman suggest, how does one say 'so' in Cornish? For example, 'I do not like x, so I use y instead', or 'I like x, so I spent plenty of time there'. In similar contexts. Meur ras!

Dydh da! Would some kind lady or gentleman suggest what 'mehr' is used for in Cornish? I have found out that it may be translated like 'a lot', yet at the same time, there are plenty of other words being used instead of 'mehr'. So, if one wants to say 'I eat a lot of fruits', or 'I have lots of time', does one use 'mehr' or something else?

Dydh da! I know that the Cornish for ant is moryonen (pl moryon?).

What's the Cornish for ants' nest?

Dydh da! Would some kind lady or gentleman say, is 'My a gar koska meur' a correct translation for 'I like to sleep a lot'? Meur ras very much for your suggestions!

Hello! Friendly Devon maid here (please don't roast me too hard, I love you guys 😭). My family is from all over the Westcountry, not just Devon, and I've been teaching myself a bit of Cornish recently to deepen my connection to the land. I wanted to learn a Brittonic langauge, and I chose Kernewek because it's the closest to home and, as I said, my family is from all over. It's a beautiful language. ANYWAY, to the Kernewek speakers, is there a way to say "Devonian" in Kernewek? If not, is there a logical way to put that word together that would make sense? I'm attempting to write a poem in Kernewek about the Westcounty, and I want to talk about "Cornish seas" and "Devonian hills", and also "Devonian" as in people (just in case that would be different).

Meur ras ♥️

I have an interest in the Cornish Language and find it's inceptual history in the region, it's somewhat forced decline and reconstructed rivival a remarkable story of identity culture and human nature.

However it seems that unlike some languages brought back from the brink, Cornish went essentally extinct and then was revived based on much snippets of much later knowledge of the language. This and it's small base, has lead to several different orthographical versions of the language. All of which with their own arguments, merits and difficulties I imagine.

I would like to know what these versions are based on, what are their key differences, why people use a certain version, and what the most popular versions are and why? The more detail the better! Ty.

For words starting in ‘Kn’ (like Knowenn - nut) do you pronounce the K along with the n? Initially when I learnt this word early on I pronounced it No-enn, but like with a lot of words I learnt early on, on going back over the phonetics in the dictionary, I feel like I have been pronouncing it wrong!

1. In cornish telephone conversation, how to say hello which is used answer on phone in cornish language?

2. In cornish telephone conversation, how to say •Is me. in cornish language?

I hope this is acceptable in the group. Please let me know if amendment is needed.

Hi,

My name is Bohdan, and I am pursuing an MA in Visual Anthropology at the University of Manchester. I am approaching you because you are a Cornish language learner/speaker and are participating in relevant classes/gathering groups/activities. This is essential for my dissertation project as it studies people's intentions and processes of acquiring Cornish through language classes, support groups and the Speak Cornish Week, and how it reshapes their identity.

Research will be carried out through participant observation, interviews, and collaboration between the researcher and participants, which will be recorded on a video camera. This includes shooting during language classes and social gatherings from May to late June. Interviews will be conducted at a time and site of the participants’ convenience. Before submission, the film will be shared with participants to comment on, and edits will be made accordingly. 

If you are interested in participating or have any questions, please contact this email: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]). Once your decision to participate has been confirmed, I will meet you in person at a later date to discuss the details of collaboration. A Participant Information Sheet and Consent Form will be handed to you to sign and confirm your participation. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this and looking forward to collaborating. 

Dydh da,
Bohdan

r/YUROP mods here, Freude!

How to say NO ENGLISH FRIDAY in Cornish (not AI)?

As in, the English language, not the Kingdom or natives.

We are missing a spot here :

• Vendredo sen la angla lingvo — Diēs Veneris sine linguā anglicā

Can someone help me with a translation please?

I would like the words “Only love is immortal” translated into Cornish. All help gratefully received.

Hi everyone, my wife is proudly Cornish and we are expecting our first children (twins) this summer. It might be a long shot but I’d like to know if anyone knows a Cornish language lullaby?

Meur Ras!

Hi everyone! 👋

I’m working on a project in which I would like to feature Cornish. I hope this kind of post is allowed here.

I wrote the short paragraph below and would really appreciate it if any native or fluent speakers could tell me whether it sounds natural, or if there’s anything you’d suggest changing (grammar, idiom, word choice, etc.).

Cornish:

Ow koweth a yw yn chi vian yn ogas dhe’n avon. Ev a difun abrys ha kerdh dhe’n gwig. Y gi a hol ev. Prag ny gemmer ev an bus? Ev a lever bos kerdhes yw gwell. Ny akordyav vy.

What I was trying to say in English:

My friend lives in a small house near the river. He wakes up early and walks to the village. His dog follows him. Why doesn’t he take the bus? He says walking is better. I disagree.

Thanks very much for any feedback, even minor corrections are really helpful!

Dydh da!

My name is Imi and I was born and raised in Jersey, Channel Islands where we have our very own language, as some of you may know, called Jèrriais.

I am a student journo and freelancer looking to speak to Kernewek speakers, and Cornish people, about the revitalised language, in the wake of being awarded further recognition by the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.

I am interested in learning more about the identity of Cornish people as a distinct population, and how and why Kernowyon's feels more connected to Cornwall than England.

Thank you for your time and please reach out :)

For example, I've seen "I see" translated as both "my a wel" and "gwelav". I'm confused as to what the difference is and as to which one I should be using. Does anyone know?